Not judging by the balcony views of tennis courts and Appletree Cove. Not judging by the upstairs fitness room, the computer lab or the community veggie garden out back. And not judging by the location — adjacent to a park and close to downtown stores.

The apartments are affordable, even if they don't look it. Rents at the 35-unit building, set to open Friday, range from $610 to $885 a month.

Low rents were made possible by public-private partnerships and a complex financing structure. Martha & Mary, a Poulsbo-based nonprofit, joined with Bellevue development firm Shelter Resources Inc. in a venture called Village Green Kingston Associates.

The partnership secured $7 million in tax credits from the state Housing Finance Commission, which it sold to offset most of the $8.8 million construction cost. Several other loans and grants helped round out the budget. Work on the West Kingston Road complex began in August 2012.

The independent-living apartments are available to residents 62 and older who meet certain income requirements. Four units were set aside for people of any age with disabilities (those apartments already are full). The building is about 70 percent pre-leased.

Solvie said Martha & Mary expects the apartments to help meet demand for affordable senior housing in North Kitsap.

"There aren't as many choices in that part of the county as those residents wished to have," he said.

The apartments are attracting local seniors as well as people relocating from other states. Many are moving to be closer to family in the Northwest.

Libby Matthaeus, of Bainbridge Island, dropped off an application Wednesday at the apartment office. She hopes to help her elderly parents move from Arizona.

"We've wanted them up here for a while," Matthaeus said. "They're now at a point where they need to be closer to family."

Matthaeus' parents live independently but her father recently suffered a small stroke. She'd like to have them closer to her and living in a tight-knit community setting. Her parents are excited by the possibility, she said.

"When I told them about this place, and explained it to them, my mom said, ‘OK, how soon are we coming up?'," Matthaeus said.

Residents will begin moving into the apartments in the next week. Megan Burlingame, who manages the building for Guardian Management, said the shared community rooms, patios and garden should foster neighborliness.

"I imagine a lot of potlucks," she said.

Organizers expect the senior apartments to be part of a bustling hub of activity. The Village Green Foundation continues to raise money for a multipurpose building to be constructed on the West Kingston Road campus. The building will include a library, community center, senior center, Boys & Girls Club and a commercial kitchen.

About $5.4 million has been raised for the building, said Bobbie Moore, who organized the capital campaign and also chairs the Village Green Metropolitan Park District board. That leaves foundation about $2.7 million short of its goal.

Moore hopes the opening of the apartment complex will give the community center project a boost.

"It's going to be a significant milestone," she said. "It's generated an awful lot of excitement,"